T- sweet and malty with notes of lactose, a hint of coffee, brown sugar, charred cream, licorice, the caramel/butterscotch actually comes though on the finish and lingers on the palate long after finishing

M - medium body and carbonation, foamy mouthfeel with a sweet finish

O- it's sweet, but I didn't have any trouble drinking 12oz, loved the aroma, unlike anything I've experienced. Base stout was mostly sweet, the butterscotch aftertaste was what made this one a winner, great beer

More User Reviews:

APPEARANCE: As I began to pour this beer it slowly came gurgling out like it was waiting for an invitation. Black motor oil liquid that devours the glass into a deep darkness. Small amounts of a milk chocolate rim variations sit underneath a dense latte colored head. Dense and tightly bubbled head that has a long lasting retention.

AROMA: Imagine taking the best creme brulee you have ever smelled, chopping it up and snorting it. Ya that's what this beer smells like. Its insane I can smell the intense vanilla from 2-3 feet away. Loads of caramelized and slightly burnt brown sugar join the vanilla as dominate aromas coming forth. If you can get beyond the vanilla and sugar there is a very creamy milk aroma and marshmallow that gives way to a slight coca dusting. It honestly smells amazing I've never gotten this much vanilla on the nose of any beer before, outstanding!

TASTE: Liquid custard, heavy cream, vanilla Nesquik tons of lactose that adds a residual sweetness that is delicious as a creme brulee is. There is a slight break in the upfront sweetness that shows some malt characteristics, caramel, nuttiness with some light espresso flavors. The presence of vanilla is undeniable, although it doesn't quite dominant the palate as it did on the nose.That leaves room for the caramelized and burnt sugar flavors to join in on the fun. As this beer begins to warm up it does reveal a layer of the traditional stout flavors, with some bitter chocolate and roasted malts that tie this beer together and really round it out.

MOUTHFEEL: Low plus carbination with a medium plus body. Almost drinks like a melted creme brulee milk shake, with a very creamy mouthfeel. The nearly 10% abv can be detected and i think its a welcome reception to remind myself that this is a beer after all.

OVERALL: Its funny to read all the reviews and see how people are bashing this beer for being to sweet. Did you not read the label and see its said "Creme Brulee" and "lactose sugar" ? I for one new exactly what I was getting into, I saved it for after dinner, late night when i was ready to drink my dessert and it did not disappoint. It drinks like liquid creme brulee, that a stout was poured on top of and then flamed. Whats not to like about that? The nose on this beer is in the top I have ever let my nostrils consume, amazing. My only complaint i would say is there is a thin line when letting this warm up, its nice to get the stout flavors to come out but let it get just a tad warmer and it does start to get a medicinal, astringent thing going on.

A: Almost black with a small beige head that leaves some lacings on the glass as it settles.

S: Very strange. It smells more like pasty or cookies than a stout. Burnt sugar, vanilla, toffee - well, it smells like creme brulee. Beneath this massive wall of dessert-like aromas, some muted aromas or roasted malts and a hint of coffee are noticeable.

T: An absolute mess. It's cloyingly sweet with overpowering notes of vanilla, burnt sugar, caramel and toffee. I get the exact same feeling of pastry, cookies or other desserts that I got from the smell. Some stout flavors or roasted malts, dark fruits and chocolate beneath it all. The finish is quite bitter, but the bitterness is off queue and fails to level the sweetness. A hint of wood at the end.

D: Too strange and too sweet to ever get interesting. It's definitely one of a kind, I'll give the brewery that. And the fact that it tastes so much like creme brulee is quite impressive. But it still isn't a good beer. It's basically just a cloyingly sweet dessert disguised as a stout, and if I want a dessert, I'll get a dessert, not a beer.

This one can be polarizing for sure. I will always defend it as being the quintessential creme brulee beer (if not an original), and one of the absolute quintessential desert beers ever made.

A: Black, almost inky, quite thick. The head is a medium brown cap that rests on top and drops down fairly significant lacing.
S & T: Creme. Brulee. What more do you want? Seriously, though, this is well fleshed out, as drinkers get the full sum of the parts as well as the individual flavors expected. Everyone has their opinions, but I have to scoff at those who say it's too sweet: its moderate hoppiness almost perfectly counters the sweetness. So much vanilla, with chocolate, coffee, and cream culminating in near perfection. A touch of coffee liqueur flavor hits the middle with the chocolate alternating between milk and bittersweet. A touch of toffee rests in there as well. If anything, the hops take away slightly. This beer could easily be so much sweeter, and I reject any claim that it's cloying. A true beauty.
M: Thick without being a fudgy stout in the feel, this one has an extremely smooth and creamy mouthfeel with just enough balancing crispness. Milky and creamy in the feel, with a pleasurable flow to it. I would take just the slightest bit off the bite, but it's very smooth ultimately.

I've had this sitting for three years not particularly to age it but rather just didn't open it. Pours the part-extremely dark. Aroma is superb. Burnt sugar, vanilla, heavy cream, confectionary, cocoa nibs and hint of roast coffee. First taste is chilled and matches the nose. I like the fact that I can really pick out each characteristic. As it warms dimensions change to extremely sweet, as it hurts the teeth, and more coffee roast is apparent which I like. Feel is sticky on the lips and low carbonation. Overall I cannot compare this to a fresh bottle but I do not believe aging this has any dramatic effect, as I imagine. Loved it colder much lost luster as it warmed. Irregardless, the title fits the part. In that respect this is a solid brew.

Pours a rich black with scant off white head, minimal effervescence. Smells strongly of vanilla, custard, cocoa, caramel. Tastes is sweet vanilla and malts forward, buttery notes and balanced by a bitter mid and final note and a fair amount of astringency. Medium to thick bodied - sweet notes predominate in this intentionally sweet, desert beer - a little syrupy - but pleasant (you wouldn't be drinking more than a glass of this)

This beer was highly recommended by my waitress at Flying Saucer. It came out in a 22 oz bottle.

I poured it into a tulip glass.

A: at first glance it looks great. good color.
S. the aggressive aroma made me immediately think this beer was loaded with some kind of fake extracts. I checked the bottle and found it was all natural ingredients.
T: I took a swig, and I could barely swallow. I would almost rather consume a BMC beer. I nearly left the rest of it there and walked out. But it was way to pricey to waste.
M: the mouthfeel was astringent almost. It felt chemically.
O: No. don't drink this beer

A: The beer is jet black in color and poured with a finger high tan head that quickly faded away and left lacy patterns of bubbles floating on the surface.
S: There is a strong and sweet aroma of butterscotch and vanilla beans in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and has flavors of caramel, brown sugar, heavy cream and vanilla beans.
M: It feels medium-bodied, smooth and slightly viscous on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
D: Drinking this beer is practically like having dessert; it goes down very easily and there's not a trace of the alcohol content in the smell and taste.

A: Poured into a snifter to a light black beer topped by a dense one finger light tan head that fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with some lacing
S: Smells of sugar and straight vanilla. Kind of like vanilla salt water taffy or vanilla ice cream
T: Taste is vanilla, sugary sweetness, some astringency I can't place, faint roast malt. Swallow is more vanilla and sugar with some well placed roasted malt. Slight alcohol on the finish
M: thick in the mouth with soft carbonation and a slightly drying finish.
O: This beer is true to its name with a lot of vanilla and sugary sweetness. If you like to drink your dessert this one is right up your alley. I kind of wish they put this in a smaller bottle because this much sweetness could easily get cloying. I'm also a little worried that this beer might give me a cavity..

I enjoy sweet beers, and especially milk stouts, but I think this is my boundary. These guys make some of the best "flavored" brews out there, and this is no exception. Dark black pour with minimal brown foam. Vanilla and alcohol dominate the nose with just a bit of malt-syrup coming through. Mostly vanilla initially in the sip, followed by a nice cooked sugar and dark chocolate finish. Very creamy mouthfeel, and any aftertaste is just pleasantly sweet.

Pours nice and dark with a small cream head. Smells quite nice all be it a bit sweet. Unfortunately this was where the appeal ended. The taste is sickly sweet and resulted in an instant headache, the feel is sticky and leaves behind a viscous coating.

Lots of fans of this beer... just found out that I am not one. Looks great, with a pitch black body and ring of tan head. Served good and cold, as suggested. Nose was exactly like a Werthers' Original candy (which is OK by me). Could barely get past the first sip... hyper-sweet, astringest, horrible. Mouthfeel was basically a guess... can't do it. Wife thinks it is fine. If it wasn't for her, there goes an 8.99 drain pour. Bottom of the barrel for me. I am a stout guy, and this hit way off the mark for me.

nice looking dark brown pour, black in glass. less than a finger of tan head that recedes quickly, leaving a few spots of lace. aroma is pretty nice, super sweet vanilla, dark fruity cherry note, sweet chocolate. on palate it is decent at first, but as it warms becomes extremely cloying and almost medicinal. at first i thought it might be enjoyable, but ultimately it is not.

Teeth hurting sweetness, a great vanilla smell but the taste lacks any body whatsoever. Very thin and artificial tasting. I would highly recommend blending this with a favorite imperial or bourbon barrel imperial stout to achieve an enjoyable tasting of this beer.

As Southern Tier does with all Black Water beers in the series, this one oozes with creamy goodness of chocolate cream pie, to the point that I forget that this is a 10% Milk Stout.

Very strong aromas of, well... Creme Brulle. Strong vanilla, coffee, chocolate. Very well balanced and mouth watering. A light hint of cola comes in the end.

Flavors of vanilla and powdered sugar start off in as well as any beer imaginable. Soon, strong coffee, chocolate, vanilla, heavy cream, and merange (sp?) engulf the beer and dive heavy into a Khaluha-like alcohol taste and strength. Very nice but that extra sweetness begins to take the form of aspirtame from time to time.

Quite heavy on the palate due to light carbonation, heavy sweetness, and firm maltiness. Bitterness seems to come from a lot of directions; hops, bitter cocoa, coffee, and again that aspirtame bite. Finishes a bit cleaner than expected with a deep chocolate and vanilla linger. I would probably prefer this beer without the disjointed bitterness.

This beer is absolutely horrible. The smell is obnoxious and unappealing. The taste is worse. It has one of the worst aftertastes I've ever experienced; somewhat medicinal and just downright nasty. The beer looks good, however; its opaque, almost black, and pours a nice tan, one finger head. Unfortunately, it's all looks, and no taste. I couldn't finish this one. I read other descriptions and I guess my taste buds aren't refined enough because I didn't taste cocoa, chocolate, Creme brûlée, vanilla or anything else described in this beer. It's horribly sweet and unappealing. Won't be buying this again.

Better enjoyed quite cold, as suggested; whatever "natural flavor" has been added starts to taste pretty artificial as the beer warms. When chilled, I get the vanilla and some caramelized sugars, but the predominant flavor is amaretto. Much worse if you let it get anywhere near room temperature, with some bitter and metallic compounds that surface.

Pours an opaque black with a small 1/2 inch khaki head that fades to an oily film on the top of the beer. Small amounts of lacing slide back down into the rest of the beer on the drink down. Smells exactly like creme brulee. Very sweet milk, vanilla, and caramelized sugar aromas. Taste is a bit different than I was expecting. Up front there is a pretty bitter roasted malt taste that develops into a sweet cream, vanilla, and caramelized sugar aftertaste. The bitterness fades after each sip leaving the creme brulee flavors on the palate. This beer is definitely less sweet than it smells. Mouthfeel is very rich and creamy with a lower level of carbonation. Overall, this is a good beer that smells and tastes very similar to the creme brulee dessert. I split this one with my wife and she absolutely loved it. This and the Choklat are the best ST Black Water Series beers that I have tried.